Pakistan Protests Afghan Drone Incursion as Nuristan Fighting Deepens Border Crisis

ISLAMABAD / Kabul, — September 28, 2026 — Pakistan has lodged a formal protest with Afghan authorities over alleged violations of its airspace by drones from Afghanistan, as relations between the two neighbours deteriorate further following fighting in Afghanistan's Nuristan province and competing accusations over cross-border militant activity. (HUM News; Arab News)

Pakistan's Foreign Office said a protest note was delivered to the Afghan side on September 26 following the reported drone violations. Islamabad had already issued an earlier protest on September 23 and subsequently carried out strikes against what Pakistani officials described as locations used to launch or store drones in Afghanistan. (HUM News; Arab News)

The latest diplomatic move comes alongside a separate confrontation in Nuristan. Afghanistan's Defence Ministry said its forces killed 28 fighters and captured 32 others after an armed group crossed into Kamdesh district from the direction of Pakistan. Kabul alleged that some of those involved were former Afghan security personnel and that Daesh-linked fighters had received Pakistani support. (Reuters; Al Jazeera) (Al Jazeera)

Pakistan has categorically rejected the allegations, saying there is no evidence that its military or intelligence agencies recruited, trained or supported fighters involved in the Nuristan clashes. Islamabad also rejected allegations that it facilitated Daesh or other armed groups operating inside Afghanistan. (Business Recorder; Pakistan Ministry of Information)

The Afghan claims have also been challenged from within Afghanistan's wider opposition landscape. The Afghanistan Freedom Front said its forces were separately fighting Taliban forces in Kamdesh and Nari districts and claimed casualties among Taliban fighters, while Taliban-linked sources have given a different account of the fighting. The competing claims could not be independently verified. (Afghanistan International)

Images and videos circulating through Afghan media and social-media accounts have shown weapons, ammunition and other military equipment that Afghan authorities say were seized during the Kamdesh operation. The circumstances surrounding the material and the identities of those shown in accompanying footage have not been independently verified. (TOLOnews; Afghanistan International)

The Nuristan confrontation follows a series of Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan. Islamabad says its strikes were directed against militant and drone-related targets, while Kabul has condemned the attacks as violations of Afghan sovereignty and has disputed Pakistan's account of the security threats originating from Afghan territory. (Reuters; Afghanistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

The latest developments therefore involve two overlapping disputes: Islamabad is demanding action over alleged drone incursions from Afghan territory, while Kabul is accusing Pakistan of supporting armed groups crossing into Afghanistan. Pakistan denies the Nuristan allegations, and independent verification of the competing battlefield claims remains limited. (Reuters; Al Jazeera)

The diplomatic protest and the Nuristan fighting mark another escalation in relations between Islamabad and Kabul, with both governments maintaining sharply different accounts of the armed groups operating along the border and the events that triggered the latest military confrontation. (Arab News; Afghanistan International)